Refrigerator structure and insulation therefor



- A 9,1940. c. D. wALL cH I REFRIGERATOR STRUCTURE AND INSULATION THEREFOR 2 Sheets-She et 1 4 Filed Aug. 7, 1935 20 2 v g- 10v H /9 Carl D. Wallach A 9, 1940. c. D. WALLACH REFRIGERATOR STRUCTURE AND INSULATION THEREFOR 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 File d Aug. 7, 1935 h ,w a w z a 4 mm .9 mm m 4 M 4 D A A m g C E w Patented Apr. 9, 1940 UNITED STATES anmronas'ron s'rnUc'rnnE AND INSULATION 'rnnnnron Carl D. Wallach, Newburgh, N. Y., minimto American Flange and Manufacturing Oompany, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of Illinois AppllcationAugust 7, 1935, Serial No. 35,067

. 3 Claims.

- This invention relates to refrigerator structures, and more especially to improved walls therefor employing metallic sheets bounding air spaces for the purpose of insulation, including especially flat sheets of ordinary commercial black steel. v

An object of the invention is to provide a refrigerator having walls of high heat-and-cold insulating value and which can be manufactured m in quantity economically, from ordinary materials.

Another object is to provide a wall structure for thermally insulated containers, such as refrigerators, in which metallic sheets spaced apart to form closed air spaces are employed for insulation, and including comer construction which provides the necessary rigidity to the structure while preventing heat loss. 1

A further object is to providea new and improved means of spacing thermally insulating metallic sheets and fastening them in spaced relation at their corners, when used for walls of rectangular containers, said spacing and fastening corner means having also high insulating value. A still further object is to provide an all-metal wall construction for containers and the like in which adjoining wall edges are bevelled and their bevelled surfaces partially or wholly connected while yet being separated by insulating material.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a container structure with inset top and bottom members fastened to the adjacent side members but thermally insulated therefrom.

All these and other objects as suggested herebelow are attained by the method and means now to be described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of one embodiment of the invention, comprising a substantially allmetal refrigerator wall structure.

Fig. 2 is a semiho'rizontal sectional view of the structure of Fig. 1, taken through the line 2--2 of said Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a semivertical sectional view of the wall structure of a modified form 0 the invention, utilizing combined spacing-1" g-andinsulating corner members.

Fig. 4 is a semivertical sectional view of a 50 modified form of the structure ofFlg. 1, but havto show the interior constructicnfoi the tcp'and bottom members of the bevelled wall construction shown in Fig. 1.

And Fig. 6 is a view'similar to that of Fig. 5,

but showing the construction of the top and hot- This inventlonhas to do generally withthe type in of all-metal or largely all-metal wall construction for containers, such as refrigerators, em bodying the use of disconnected nested air spaces separated by metallic sheets having a high -dcgree of reflectivity to heat rays. Thus the construction consists of a plurality of thermally insulating metallic sheets, in this case three in number, and numbered lllfi i, and i2, Fig. i, so far as the insulating sheets in the top and bottom members are concerned, and I3, Ill, and 15 for 20 the continuous metallic sheet members which surround the four sides of the container, except for aligned but disconnected similar sheet members l6, l1, and II used to insulate the doorof the Such material may also be'covered with a dull 35H heat-reflective non-oxidizing surface.

The top and bottom members, as shown in Fig.

'1, comprise the three spaced sheets of thermal insulation I 0, I I, and I2, an vouter spaced metallic flat sheet 2|, and inner spaced metallic fiat 40 sheets 22 and 22d.- Members l0, H, and I! have their end surfaces flanged at an angle, in this case of degrees, to form bevel contacting corner areas for connecting said top and bottom members with similarly bevelled corners of the 5 substantially continuous side wall, throughsuitable insulation.

The side wallsconsist ofspaced insulating sheets l3, ll, ll extending continuously around all four side walls,- except where interrupted at the door opening, or for conveniencein manu- V j facture they may be made substantially continuous by being joined at their corners as by the flange construction shown at 28,Fig.'-2.'

Spacing means are provided at a. plurality of as the several insulating sheet members are attached at their corners and also preformed for rigidity.

In the modification shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 5, the corners are bevelled and the ends of insulating sheets In, H, and I2, and also l3, l4, and I5,

are attached in spaced relation at their cornersto insulating strip members 26, which may be made of fiber board, or other heat-insulating material, preferably cellular in structure. Thus, as will be seen in the drawings, each comer section consists of two such insulating members 26, 26, in parallel spaced relation, fastened together along their inner surfaces-during assembly by means of an insulating adhesive such as a mastic coating 21. Large headed rivets, or other suitable fasteners 28, Fig. 5, are employed to aflix each corner insulating strip 26 to the flanges of its thermally insulating sheets.

The door of the refrigerator is built up in a similar manner with its three insulating sheets,

l5, l1, and I3, flanged at their ends and fastened to similar insulating strips, the sides and top and bottom edges of the door and the adjacent edges of the side wall opening being bevelled inwardly. as shown, to make a seal-tight engagement when the door is closed. The door is hinged at 53, 53 to a portion of that side member, and suitable latches (not shown) are used for releasably fastening it in closed position.

There are, of course, continuous spaced inner members 29 and outer spaced continuous members 30 positioned inside and outside, respectively, to the insulating sheet members to complete the construction of the four sides of the container. Also a similar aligned inner member 3|, and outer member 54, is employed on the door construction.

It will be noted that the spacing of the various sheets is smallest at the outside, or relatively hot side, of the container, and progressively greater as they approach the inside, or relatively cold side. This has been found to increase somewhat the insulating efliciency of the construction.

The bottom member 22a, as shown in Fig. 2, may preferably be corrugated on its inner sur-- face, as shown, for the purpose of reducing the contacting area between it and the bottom contents of the container to the minimum. The corrugations may be in any direction, but are shown across the container in the direction toward the door for convenience in cleaning the bottom of the container.

In the construction just described, the con.- tainer is assembled by first forming the continuous four-sided member thereof. then inserting the composite bottom member up from below, and the top member down from above, and then aflix- -ing these two last-named members to the continuous side member, as by welding at the flanges of the inner and outer top and bottom members 22, 22a, 2|, 2| and by means of the mastic adhesive 2| on the bevelled corner surfaces of the insulating strips, 25-25.

The modification shown in Figs. 3. and 6 is similar to the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2, except as regards the corner construction; for whereas in the form. shown in Figs. 1 and 2 a largely allmetal construction is employed, in that of Figs. 3 and 6 the comers consist of insulating strips 32 shaped in cross-section as shown to provide three steps, on one surface of each of which one of the three insulating sheets 33, 34, 35. is fastened. Thus no flanges are necessary on the ends of these insulating sheets, and the combined spacer and connector 24, previously employed, and here shown in Fig. 3, also may or may not be used.

The inner continuous side sheet 36, including its top and bottom flanged inner sheets afhxed thereto, and the outer continuous side member or sheet 31, including also its top and bottom flanged outer sheets affixed thereto, are likewise mounted in the inner and outer rectangularshaped corner section notches, respectively, of said end members 32, these being spaced from the three-insulating sheets 33, 34, 35 as clearly shown.

In this construction the top and bottom members are assembled in a similar manner as before tovthe formed side member corners, insulating adhesive such as mastic 38 being employed at the contacting surfaces of adjacent members 32 to hold them in position.

In the modification shown in vertical crosssection in Fig. 4, the top and bottom members are inset into the continuous side member, the joints between the several members being vertical or parallel to the sides, instead of bevelled as in the other modifications. Otherwise the construct.on and fastening of the several parts is the same, the insulating sheets being numbered 39, 40, and -4|, the outer sheet 42, the inner sheet 43, and the insulating air space closure 44, the last-named member being of cellular sheet material such as fibre board. In this view no mastic adhesive is shown, the fastening or welding (not shown) being through the flanges of the top and bottom insulating sheets 45, 46, 41, and 48, 49, 50, the inner container member 43, and insulating closure member 44.

By means of the construction shown in these several modifications, a plurality of nested air spaces, separated from their adjoining ones at the corners of the container, is employed, the closure means for these several air spaces being of suitably heat-insulated material so that no hot spots or other conducting paths remain to reduce the thermal efficiency of the construction.

In the modification shown in Fig. 4, the top and bottom members, which are inserted in position inside the ends of the continuous side member assembly, include the overlapping portion of outside members 5|, 5|, suitably flanged as shown -to surround the corner surfaces of outside continuous member 42 and be suitably attached thereto, and the inside members 52, 52, are also suitably flanged, as shown, to contact with the inner surface of continuous inner member 43 and be suitably attached thereto, as by welding, during assembly.

It is to be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only, and that the invention is not limited thereto. To those skilled in the art, many modifications of the invention will be readily apparent, and it will also be obvious to such skilled persons that parts of the device and method may be used without other parts thereof, many such combinations readily suggesting themselves. Therefore, it should be, and is to be distinctly understood that for a definition of the limitations of the invention, rei'erencemust be had to the appended claims. 1

Having now described the invention, what is claimed as new and for which Letters Patent of the United States is desired, is: i

1. A heat insulated container, which com prises, in combination, side wall means comprising spaced continuous inner and outer sheets enclosing therebetween at least one substantially rigid continuous'metal sheet havingrhigh heat reflective characteristics, the said sheets being in nested relation, spaced from one another, and

defining therebetween a plurality of nested air spaces; closure means of low heat conducting material extending from said inner sheet to said outer sheet across the edge of said heat reflective metal sheet-and secured to said sheets to'maintain the same in flxed relation and to seal said air spaces; top and bottom members, having inner and outer spaced wall sheets and at least one substantially rigid metal sheet-having 'high heat reflective characteristics mounted therebetween, arranged to complete the enclosure of said container, said top and bottom members having closure means similar to and arranged to mate with the closure means on said side wall sheets and a heat insulating adhesive arranged between said respective closure means to secure the same together.

2. A heat insulated container, which comprises, in combination, side wall means compris- -ing s'pacedcontinuous inner and outer sheets enclosing therebetween at least one substantially, rigid continuous metal sheet having high heat reflective characteristics, the said sheets being in nested relation. spaced from one another,-and

defining therebetween a plurality of nested air spaces, closure means of low heat conductinfl material extending from said inner sheet to said outer sheet across the 'edge of said heat reflective metal sheet, and secured to said sheetsrto maintain the same in flxed' relation and to seal arcane 3 said air spaces, the edge of said heat reflective sheet being flanged with said flange lying along and secured to said closure means top and bottom members, having inner and outer spaced wall sheets and at least one substantially rigid metal sheet having high heat reflective charac-' teristics mounted therebetween, arranged to complete the enclosure'oi said container, said top and bottom members having closure means similar to and arranged to mate with the closure means of said sidewall sheets and a heat insulating adhesive arranged between said respective stepped to secure and space said heat reflective sheets, but being provided with a smooth incline on the opposite face thereof, the ends of said closure means being secured to said inner and outer sheets respectively and said *closure means serving to seal said air spaces; top and bottom members, having inner and outer spaced wall sheets and a plurality of substantially rigid metal sheets having high reflective characteristics mounted therebetween arranged to complete the enclosure of said container, said top and bottom members having closure means-similar to and arranged to mate with the closure means of said side wall sheets and a heat insulating adhesive arranged between said respective closure means g to'secure the same together.

CARL D. WALLACH. 

